China Airlines plane dented after collision at Vietnam airport
China Airlines plane dented after collision at Vietnam airport
A China Airlines flight bound for Taipei on Thursday was canceled after an aircraft belt loader collided with the plane at Tan Son Nhat International Airport shortly prior to takeoff.
The belt loader, a truck that carries the belt from which luggage will be loaded onto the plane, crashed into the door of the Boeing B777’s cargo bay, the Ho Chi Minh City airport confirmed on Thursday.
The body of the Taiwanese carrier’s plane, scheduled to take off at 10:50am, was dented after the collision, while there was no human damage.
The belt loader was operated by the Tan Son Nhat International Airport Ground Service Co. The incident occurred when the truck was approaching the aircraft to load luggage.
The nearly 300 passengers on flight CI 782 had to spend the night in a hotel. China Airlines sent an alternative flight to Ho Chi Minh City at first light Thursday, and the passengers were finally able to board the flight to the Taiwanese capital at 1:45am.
The damaged plane has been taken to a local aircraft repair center, as a group of China Airlines technicians arrived in Ho Chi Minh City to fix the problem.
On August 7, a similar incident occurred at the Da Nang International Airport, when a private plane bringing passengers from Hong Kong to the central Vietnamese city had one of its wings ripped off in a collision with an airport cargo cart.
The CL350 aircraft was sitting on the tarmac awaiting passengers for the return flight to Hong Kong when a baggage truck crashed into its left wing. The aircraft was pushed to the left for about 20cm after the collision, whereas its left wing was left with a 30cm-long mark.
The baggage truck that caused the tear was operated by the Da Nang unit of Saigon Ground Services, which was on its way to serve another aircraft at the time of the incident.
In related news, a Vietnam Airlines flight bound for Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday was delayed after the aircraft suffered a breakout while taxiing at Phu Quoc International Airport, off the southern province of Kien Giang.
Nearly 100 passengers were required to remain on the plane while it was towed back for repairs, according to newswire VnExpress.
The sub-engine of the aircraft failed to generate power, while the main engine operated normally, according to the airport’s director, Nguyen Minh Dong.
The flight finally took off after an hour-long delay.
“It’s a normal incident; nothing is serious here,” Dong was quoted by VnExpress as saying. “We asked the flight attendants to notify the passengers of this technical issue, and the situation was appropriately handled.”
